


The World from the Stars

by freshia



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Music & Bands, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-17 06:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freshia/pseuds/freshia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>S.A.S.S. is the most popular girl group in the world, dominating the music market for the two years since their debut. Can someone please remind me how I, Alice Kirkland, managed to get wrapped up in this tangled web called the entertainment industry?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World from the Stars

Let's rewind for a second. Back before the hurried people caked my face with glittery makeup while my stomach churned uncomfortably, back before I spent 4 long months learning to dance and sing, back before I met those beautiful blue eyes that could make anyone's heart flutter.

As a matter of fact, we'll trace this all the way back to the day I was thrown into this mess, because I heard that a good way to calm down nerves is to trace your steps from the beginning to where you are now. Something about it reconfirming your situation, I suppose, not that the reason matters all that much - at this point, I'm willing to try anything to stop my stomach from doing backflips.

My name is Alice Kirkland, and 5 months ago today I spilled a cherry slushie onto celebrity Felicia Vargas's white pants.

Now, it's common knowledge that if you live in a large city like I do, you're bound to run into celebrities. Even if it's just a quick glance as you pass them by on the sidewalk, it still happens.

And honestly, I couldn't have cared less. Do you know what's important in life? Do you want to know how to succeed? I can tell you what I thought. I was obsessed with grades. Getting ahead in life was my one goal, my one way ticket out of this crowded, stuffy city to some place in the suburbs, where I could live a simple, neat life with a well-paying job and little distractions. That's all I wanted in life.

I didn't care about ogling idols in magazines. I didn't have the  _time_ to care anything about other people's lives, especially some rich celebrity who didn't even know I existed. I was completely blind to pop culture, simply because it didn't seem useful to me.

So, to be frank, when I slipped on some ice and splashed my red drink onto one of the main vocalists of the world's most popular girl group, I had absolutely no idea who she was.

"O-Oh. My God, I am so sorry, I just slipped-" I was absolutely bright red, similar to the color of Felicia once-white jeans. "And  _white_  pants too, for Christ's sake..."

The brunette staring down at me looked shocked. She hadn't said a word yet, only giving me an extremely surprised expression. I scrambled up from the icy ground, grabbing my purse to dig around for a napkin.

"I am really sorry. Here, here are some napkins, if they help- Oh, wait, I have a pen, I'll just scribble my address onto this and you can bill me for the pants later... It's not like you'll ever be able to get  _that_ stain out!" I gave a fake laugh, hoping to get some response out of the girl than just a shocked stare.

"Um..."

"Here, here!" I shoved the napkin with my address on it in her hands, cutting off the first thing she had said since I had colored her pants pink. "I am so, so sorry-"

"Don't worry about it-" she gave another attempt to speak again, but I continued over her.

"Those look pretty expensive-"

"It's fine!" she said, suddenly laughing, throwing me off-guard. "They were actually pretty cheap~." she gave a slight shrug. I frowned, examining the jeans again.

Now, I may not have (and still probably don't, for that matter) known anything about fashion, but I can tell when a pair of pants is high-quality, and these definitely were. When you're bargain hunting, you not only have to look for cheap things, but cheap quality things. It's useless if you buy cheap things that only last a day, anyway.

"Are you sure?" the doubt in my voice must have been evident, because she frowned.

"Totally sure!" she said, pulling the sunglasses off her face. She really was quite pretty. I was still doubtful, but a sigh of relief escaped me anyway. The girl was still giving me a skeptical look, and I shifted uncomfortably under the gaze.

"Um, then, excuse me-"

"You're... Not freaking out. Do you not recognize me?"

She caught me just as I was about to turn around and continue on my way.

Oh no, I hated this question. I didn't have knack for remembering faces, much less names. I saw a lot of people everyday, and most of them I thought were pretty irrelevant to me. Slowly, I turned back around and frowned.

She didn't have a malicious look on her face though, only something that could be described as pure curiosity. I sucked in a breath.

"S-Sorry... Have we met before?"

The curious look didn't disappear, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could get the first syllable out she was interrupted - and this time, it wasn't by me.

"Are you  _fucking kidding me_?"

I heard a low, whispered voice hiss from beside me and I jumped back. Before I could even take in what was happening a darker haired brunette stepped in between me Felicia.

I didn't know this at the time, but this girl's name was Lovina Vargas, sister to Felicia, lyricist, and vocalist of the group I would soon be joining.

"Lovi-!"

"This isn't exactly what I call  _under the radar._ You're making a scene and calling attention to yourself, look at you!" the new girl was seething. It was as if she didn't even see me. I started slowly backing away, before Felicia grabbed my arm.

"Lovi, listen to this! This girl - she has no idea who we are!"

Lovina shot me a look at that, before frowning and rolling her eyes.

"Who  _cares_? And yeah right, you'll believe anything you hear. Idiot... Now hurry the hell up before people notice us!" she snapped, ripping Felicia's hand off my arm and dragging her off.

"But-" Felicia said weakly as she was dragged away, giving a glance backwards at me before being shoved into a high-dollar store by the other girl.

And that, that was just the beginning.

A few hours later, I had managed to put the incident out of my mind. There were a lot of weirdos in a place like this, and even though I usually managed to fly under the radar most of the time, it wasn't like that was a complete repellent to the crazies. I scribbled down a few more notes from my psychology text book before shutting the book. I just couldn't think that night for some reason, and a few minutes later I hopped into the shower in an attempt to refocus.

Let me interrupt again to give you another tidbit of information that's important to the story: I sing in the shower.

Singing has always been a bit of a... Stress relief for me. Just busting it out at the top of my lungs was so  _liberating_ and God knows even I need to blow off some steam sometimes.

Any college student can tell you the life isn't fabulous.

And that day was no exception. After singing my heart out while rinsing the conditioner from my hair, I wrapped a towel around myself and walked out of the bathroom. I was headed towards the kitchen to grab a quick drink before I returned to my studying, when I heard a semi-familiar voice:

"Wow! I never would have guessed you'd be so good at singing~."

I screamed. The girl who I had run into this morning - was sitting on my couch, smiling.

Immediately I pressed myself up against the nearest wall, not daring to take my eyes off of her. "I-If you're wanting the money for the pants, I-I don't have it on me right now!"

"W-What are you talking about? I told you it was okay! P-Please don't scream..." she looked close to tears, her voice shaking more than mine was.

I blinked in confusion. Clearly this girl wasn't mentally stable. What were you supposed to do in a situation like this? Not agitate them, surely. I eased away from the wall slightly, inching towards the phone.

"Then... Then what do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my cool as I continued to creep nearer and nearer to the phone. She looked sort of blank for a moment, before lighting back up again.

"Oh! I remember now, haha! I wanted to know if you wanted to go get a slushie! Since I ruined yours earlier."

My hand that was almost touching the phone dropped back to my side in shock.

"E-Excuse me?"

She gave me a sheepish smile.

"It ended up all over my pants! Aww, what a waste. So I just thought-"

"Who  _are_ you!?"

I couldn't help it anymore. In my shocked and confused state, I just blurted it out. She gave a slight smile at that.

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you..."

This was by far the weirdest moment I had ever had in my life. I felt a chill go up my spine - an assassin? Someone sent to kill me? I bit my lip. She frowned at my expression.

"P-Please stop looking so scared! I was just trying to be nice... Have you ever heard of S.A.S.S.?

I gave her a blank look at that. S.A.S.S.? It did sound familiar, but...

"Th-those girls that are always on the posters all over the city?"

Even I would have to be blind not to be able to see those. They were literally everywhere you went. Felicia's eyes lit up at that.

"So you  _have_ heard of us! Heehee, that's a relief. It would be a pain to explain..."

"... Us?"

She smiled again.

"Us! Hm.. I guess I can tell you now, but it probably doesn't mean anything to you since you didn't know right away... My name is Felicia Vargas. I'm part of the girl pop-group, S.A.S.S."

And that was the beginning. That was where - as cliche as this sounds - my life dissolved into something I never knew and never wanted. Felicia managed to drag me to the quick-shop to get me another slushie - until she realized she wasn't carrying any money, and I ended up having to pay for  _both_  of our slushies.

This girl couldn't possibly be famous. It just couldn't be possible for someone that ditzy to be that successful.

"How... Did you get into my house?"

She gave me a surprised look as we walked back towards my apartment building. Even in the dark of the night, she had sunglasses and a hat on in an attempt to disguise herself.

We probably looked like drug dealers.

"I came in through the front door!"

"..."

I said nothing to that. I really should have gotten that lock fixed.

"... Alice, can I ask you a question?"

I doubted by this point that Felicia could say anything else that surprised me.

"... Sure."

"Have you ever had voice lessons?"

I gave her a curious look. "No...? When I was in High School, I sang in the choir..."

Until I passed out during one of the concerts and swore to never step on stage again.

"That's really it? You had an amazing voice when I heard you in the shower!"

I paled. "Please don't bring that up again..."

"No, I'm serious!" she said, stopping dead in her tracks. I turned around to face her and sighed. "Would you... No. Wait." she grabbed a phone from her pocket, flipping it open to dial a number.

"What are you-"

"Hi! Um, can you pick me and a friend up? We're at Brooklyn and Saint Street..."

"Excuse me?" I asked. She ignored me.

"Okay, great, see you in a few!" Felicia flipped her phone shut, looking utterly pleased with herself. I looked at her in disbelief.

"I'm not sure where you're going, but I have to go back home-"

Felicia pouted. "Aw, come on! It'll be fun. I just want to introduce you to everyone else-"

"You mean S.A.S.S.!?"

"Yep! We don't get to meet people who aren't trying to get our autographs very often, it'll be refreshing! They'll love you-"

The image of the other girl from earlier today flashed in my mind. I swallowed thickly.

"I doubt that..."

"Look, there's our ride now!" Felicia completely ignored me. She grabbed me again and pushed me towards the ride. I gaped at it.

"Is that a limo!?"

"Come on, come on!" She shoved me into the limo before I could even begin to protest. When had I become so easy to kidnap?

"It's dangerous to walk around late at night anyway... I think?"

She looked completely lost again. I stared at her as she sat down next to me, seemingly lost in thought. My hand reached up to pinch myself on the cheek, just to double check that I wasn't dreaming this entire thing. I started spacing out, before I felt a tug on one of my blonde pigtails.

"These are actually pretty good..." Felicia had come back to Earth again, and was looking at my hair with a curious look.

"W-What?"

"Oh, nothing!" she gave a mischievous smile, one that was different from her usual spacey, cheerful one. I swallowed.

"I don't know what you're planning, but..."

"We're here!"

I was cut off once again as the limo had pulled up to a modern looking house, just barely on the outskirts of the city. Excitedly, Felicia jumped out of the vehicle, half-skipping towards the house. I followed behind her, far less enthusiastic.

The house wasn't anything you wouldn't expect. Large, probably enough to fit a family of 18 more than comfortably. A huge sheet of glass made the front of the house by the door, tinted so you could only see out of it and not in. A small fountain sat a few feet from the path to the front door, completely lit from all angles. The grass was trimmed perfectly, not a patch missing on the entire lawn.

If I had had any doubt that this girl was at least famous, it was blown out of the water now.

Felicia threw open the door and grabbed my arm again, pushing me in front of her.

"I'm back guys~! And I bro-"

"Where the hell did you go for an hour and a half!?"

A girl appeared around the corner of the entrance hall, a permanent scowl looking like it was etched into her face. I paled when I recognized her. The shoulder length brown hair with that girl sticking out. Just my luck...

"Huh... Was it really that long? I'm sorry, sis-"

The dark-haired brunette's eyes flicked from her sister to me, as if she was just realizing I was standing there. She scrutinized me for a second before waving a hand around me.

"And who the fuck is this?"

Felicia smiled widely.

"She's the girl from earlier! The one who spilled the drink on my pants." she explained, pushing me forward again. Lovina crossed her arms.

"Okay. And why did you bring her here? Do you think you're going to keep her as a pet or some shit? Felicia, everything has it's limit. Now throw the fan back out on the street-"

"She's going to be the group's newest addition!"

Lovina dropped her hands back to her sides, and I froze.

"Excuse me!?" I backed away from the both of them, looking at Felicia like she had grown another head.

Felicia was quickly trying to backtrack, looking a little panicked. "I-I knew that if I said it right away, you wouldn't have ever even gotten into the car." she explained frantically. "Hear me out, we really need a new person in the group-"

"You fucking idiot, you can't just grab people off the street! Besides, manager said that  _he'd_  find a person-" Lovina was practically spitting. I shrank back, not wanting to get caught up in some girl group cat fight.

"But, but!"Felicia walked back towards me and grabbed my shoulders, this time with a tighter grib on me.  _Damn_ , she was surprisingly strong. "Would you rather have some random person that we don't know anything about, or some girl who we know can sing,  _and_  we don't have to worry about her just wanting to be famous - she doesn't even know who we are!"

I thought I was going to pass out.

"How would you know if she could sing or not?" Lovina huffed. "And I seriously doubt that. There's not one person who hasn't heard of us."

"But there are people who don't care anything about us-"

"I didn't even  _agree_  to this! _"_

Lovina shot me a look so cold, it would have been scary if she wasn't quite a few inches shorter than me.

"Shut up, nobody. This doesn't have anything to do with you." she snarled. I had had just about enough of this. I brushed Felicia off of me and backed up, shaking my head.

"You know what? You're right. Okay. I'm going to leave, and we can pretend this never happened." I took a few steps back, towards the door. "I hope you guys can... Resolve whatever issue you're having, and find that member you're looking for, or whatever."

This was the point that everything should have returned back to normal. I should have walked straight out of that oversized house, called a cab, gone home and continued my life uneventfully. That's exactly how this entire incident should have ended up.

But unfortunately my life must run on a cheap day-time drama schedule, because when I turned around to leave, there was someone standing between me and the door.

"If she can sing, then let's hear it."

Even I, Alice Kirkland, the person who doesn't know anything about celebrities and pop-culture, could recognize the girl in front of me.

Jillian Beilschmidt. Lead vocalist of S.A.S.S., model, and arguably currently the most popular celebrity in the world. It was no doubt why - between the long, silver hair that flowed down to her waist and her wild purple eyes, she was probably every guy's dream girl. In the millions of posters all around this city, she was always the main exhibit. Front and center, with Lovina and Felicia backing her up from behind.

Anyone who didn't know her face would have to have been from another world.

And for the first time that day, I actually cared about the fact that I was in front of a idol.

"Um."

That was the only thing I could manage to spit out. Jillian laughed, walking over to throw an arm around my shoulder.

"Hahaha! Oh, the look on your face! P-pfft! Not that I blame you, I mean, I am  _pretty_  cool." she said, winking at me. I paled. She turned her attention from me back to Lovina and Felicia, who were both being suspiciously quiet. Lovina had her arms crossed again, rolling her eyes. Felicia looked absolutely ecstatic.

"So this is the girl who spilled the drink all over those pants?" the silverette asked her, arm still slung around me. Felicia nodded.

"I went over to her house because I was curious about something, and I heard her singing. I just thought that since they're making us get a new member, that maybe it would be easier on everyone if we picked out one ourselves. It was totally a coincidence~!" she explained, looking rather pleased with herself. Lovina snorted.

"Even if this girl can sing and it's not just Felicia's desperation making her hear things that don't exist, there's no way she can dance, or that she has the right image."

Jillian laughed. "I think her image is okay, too, if we cleaned her up a little. And with enough practice, anyone can dance!" she poked absently at my pigtails. What  _was_  their fascination with them, anyway?

"U-um! I'm sorry, but I really can't..." I slipped out of Jillian's grasp, backing away from the group again. "I can't sing in front of people." Shaking my head, I tried to explain. "The only experience I had with that was choir in High School, and I passed out during a concert."

Jillian frowned.

"So you can't even sing in front of us?"

I shook my head again. "No, I'm really sorry. I-I'll just leave, now..."

"Hey, Felicia, those pants were pretty new, weren't they?" The silver-haired girl asked the question innocently, but had on a mischievous smile. I frowned. No, she wouldn't go there, would she?

Oh, but she would. That was something that didn't take me long to learn - Jillian may be drop-dead pretty with a huge ego to boot, but she wasn't stupid. She was good at getting what she wanted, when she wanted.

That was pretty unfortunate for me.

Felicia nodded.

"I had only gotten them, um.. A week ago? Two weeks ago?"

"And you wore them all the time, right? You must have liked them a lot-"

"For God's sake - Alright, alright!" I wasn't just going to stand there and listen to this. I'd sing a line from a song for them, and leave. They would never pick me to be in their little pop-group anyway. I couldn't even get a solo in choir, much less be a singer in a world-famous group. I turned my back towards the girls and faced the door, sucking in a deep breath.

And I sang. Nothing fancy, just the first thing that came to my head. A few notes of the beginning of some catchy song that they played all the time at the cafe I studied at. And, with a red face, I turned back around to face them.

It was that moment that there was no going back. Felicia was smiling so widely I thought her face was going to split into two. Jillian looked more than satisfied, and more importantly, Lovina looked even more pissed than she usually did.

Jillian cackled, a hand resting on her hip.

"Well. Call the manager, and tell him the search is over."

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who can guess what country's music industry this is based off of gets my love! It'll become way more obvious in later chapters, but if you can guess from this one you're pretty savvy.
> 
> REALLY long chapter. More stuff will be explained in the later ones, so stay tuned!
> 
> This is my first fic on AO3, so I hope it... Looks okay? I'm still learning the format around here.


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